My car was back at the dealers yesterday for its fourth service and second MOT and I had a mk8.5 Golf as courtesy car for the day. I didn’t find the ‘oversized’ infotainment screen intrusive, it didn’t obstruct my forward view and i found the slider panel for climate control and audio volume easy to use.
It was the first car I’d driven with lane assist and although it felt a little weird at times, I didn’t feel the need to switch it off. Having said that, if I owned a mk8.5 and used it daily, I probably would turn it off.
I think the car had the new speed limiter warning thingy; if I inadvertently found myself above the speed limit (e.g. if I’d not slowed sufficiently before entering a speed limit zone) there would be an audible ‘ping’ and the speed limit sign on the instrument display would flash. I didn’t test it out by deliberately driving in excess of the speed limit for a prolonged period to see it the audible / visual warnings became something more severe, such as preventing me from accelerating above the speed limit.
The car did throw up one wobbly during the day; the parking sensors went off and the park pilot image appeared on the infotainment while I was waiting at a red light. There were no other vehicles around and no obvious objects close by that might have set them off. I had to endure around 30 seconds of a continuous tone and then they thankfully switched themselves off.
I’ve never driven a mk8 Golf so can’t comment on how - or if - the mk8.5 represents an improvement over the pre-facelift car (I think the car I had was an entry level Life model), However, if I was looking for a C segment car for my next car, the Golf would probably be on the shortlist. For me though, I think it would need to be an GTI .
It was the first car I’d driven with lane assist and although it felt a little weird at times, I didn’t feel the need to switch it off. Having said that, if I owned a mk8.5 and used it daily, I probably would turn it off.
I think the car had the new speed limiter warning thingy; if I inadvertently found myself above the speed limit (e.g. if I’d not slowed sufficiently before entering a speed limit zone) there would be an audible ‘ping’ and the speed limit sign on the instrument display would flash. I didn’t test it out by deliberately driving in excess of the speed limit for a prolonged period to see it the audible / visual warnings became something more severe, such as preventing me from accelerating above the speed limit.
The car did throw up one wobbly during the day; the parking sensors went off and the park pilot image appeared on the infotainment while I was waiting at a red light. There were no other vehicles around and no obvious objects close by that might have set them off. I had to endure around 30 seconds of a continuous tone and then they thankfully switched themselves off.
I’ve never driven a mk8 Golf so can’t comment on how - or if - the mk8.5 represents an improvement over the pre-facelift car (I think the car I had was an entry level Life model), However, if I was looking for a C segment car for my next car, the Golf would probably be on the shortlist. For me though, I think it would need to be an GTI .